Race and class in The Great Gatsby

ROLES OF ETHNIC MINORITIES

- AFRICAN AMERICANS IN GATSBY

Similar to my analysis of gender and sexuality within the remakes of Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the social and historical context of the remakes is important to look at when conducting an analysis of race within the films. In the 1920's discrimination against African Americans was normal, in a time before the Civil Rights Movement American society still followed the 'separate but equal' ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. This law meant that white and black Americans would receive the same facilities and the same opportunities as each other but they would not mix, for example separate water fountains and separate bathrooms. Although this law stated that both races would be equal under the law, loopholes were used to give black people low quality facilities and continue discriminating against them. Due to this law and the prejudiced society of the time, Luhrrman and Clayton's remakes of The Great Gatsby represent African Americans negatively in many ways - mainly through the roles that they play. 

- Segregated water fountains 
In Baz Luhrrman's The Great Gatsby the first  African American characters shown in the film are playing the roles of servants in Tom Buchanan's mansion. This is most probably because during the time before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's segregation meant that African Americans were usually unable to get high paying or dignifying jobs, simply because of their skin colour. This role connotes that black people are in service to white people as if they are inferior to them - a stereotype that has long been portrayed in the media. Another stereotypical representation seen in Luhrrman's remake is that as well as being servants black people are shown in musical roles, for example the young black boy playing the saxophone outside the apartment Tom takes Myrtle to. Saxophones are instruments associated with the Jazz genre of music, a genre that has its origins in African American culture. However a countertype of this representation is also shown in Luhrrman's work, for example when Nick and Gatsby are driving across the bridge to get into town they pass a car full of young black people and a white driver. They are shown to be dancing and drinking in the car, from their clothes and the fact that they have a driver it is clear to see that they are wealthy - something that would be rare in the 1920's as black people were heavily oppressed. The rarity of this situation is highlighted by Nick himself when he says "by the time we reached the bridge I was impossibly confused" upon seeing the car full of wealthy black people. It may be that this was a part of the film due to the context of when the film was made. In 2013, the year that Luhrrman's remake was made, a campaign began called 'Black Lives Matter' began after a string of police brutality cases against young black teenagers. It was a time of racial tension in America and therefore the need to show some kind of diversity and equality between races was high, despite historical inaccuracy. In Jack Clayton's 1974 remake of the same name, there is little to no representation of any ethnic minorities in the film. The only screen time any African American people receive is at the end of the film for 1.5 seconds when a black couple witness the scene of Myrtle's accident. Again it may be the context of the time that influenced this as the 1970's was still a racist time, despite it being after the Civil Rights Movement. 

- Young black people in a fancy car in Baz Luhrrman's The Great Gatsby, 2013

Moving onto Cherot's 2002 hip-hop adaptation G, the concepts of race and class are very important as the entire cast is African American. However this does not mean that there are no negative representations of black people - there definitely are, but there are also countertypes to negative representations shown too. For example in the beginning of the film the first time the spectator is introduced to Sky Hightower she is shown to be standing outside a big luxurious mansion in the Hamptons, this is a countertype to the common representation of black people being poor and impoverished dwelling in bad living conditions. Also when Tre, Sky's cousin, arrives at the house Sky comments on the poor state of his car to which he replies "I'm lucky to have this car, means I'm taking care of my stuff". Here a black man is shown to have a strong work ethic and an appreciation for what he has, this is another positive representation which is rarely shown as the archetypal representations of most black people in the media are as greedy criminals. As well as representations of black people, there are also representations of white people in this film that may be considered to be negative. For instance when Chip is introducing Tre to his white friends he says that he writes for a hip-hop magazine and a white man rolls his eyes and says "is there much hip-hop in the Hamptons?" sceptically, as if hip-hop belongs solely to black culture. This could be representing white people as ignorant to other cultures. G was made in 2002 at the height of the hip-hop industry, meaning that the representations of rappers is arguably stereotypical to hip-hop culture. A strong example of a representation such as this is he character of B Mo, he is always shown to be wearing stereotypical hip-hop attire like du rags and oversized clothing. As well as his clothing he is also constantly aiming to get richer and become more successful in his career at any cost - this might support the stereotype of greedy black men. 






- Sky Hightower with Chip Hightower in Christopher Scott Cherot's G, 2002

- ATTITUDES TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE

In Luhrrman and Clayton's remakes the attitudes towards African Americans and other races are undeniably negative and discriminatory. The best example I feel comes from Tom Buchanan in both films when he refers to a book called "Coloured Empires" and says that the white race is the "dominant race" while patronisingly tapping a black servant's cheek. Tom also says that it has been "scientifically proven" that other races are inferior, the fact that he believes this so deeply reflects the racist society of the 1920's. Another example which clearly points to the context of the 1920's as being influential to the film and it's portrayals of different races is when Tom states that it is up to the white race to "crush" these other races because they are a threat. It is possible that this fear of other races stems from the 1920's red scare. The red scare was a time where a fear of communism and Bolshevism was high in the 1920's, subsequently leading to a fear of people from Eastern Europe - or in fact anyone that was different to the white American race/people. 

CLASS

- ATTITUDES TOWARDS LOWER CLASSES

When analysing representations of class it must be said that 1920's America was a very classist society and the distinction was strong. This meant that those who come from old money had the most influence and power in society, unlike those in the working class. Due to this distinction the tension between the two classes was high, especially since during the 1920's the prosperity that resulted from the stock market boom led to the working class becoming wealthier. There are certain characters in all three films that resent the working class for their newfound wealth. In particular Tom Buchanan who expresses his distaste for Gatsby when he says "social climbing primitive new money types", this gives the impression that the wealthy do not want the working class to transcend their social status. To strengthen this, whenever Tom visits Mr. Wilson's garage he never enters the shop - almost as if he wants to keep a barrier between himself and the working class. However it could be said that he crosses this barrier when he has an affair with Myrtle. Nick is a good example of how working class people were able to succeed due to the stock market boom, this is because he moves to Long Island to learn the bond business. A contrast to this representation of an honest hard working man is Gatsby himself. It is later revealed that Gatsby obtained his wealth through illegal means such as fraud, all to get ahead. As well as this Gatsby changed his name when he became wealthy, this could be because he does not want to be associated with his impoverished background any longer. Here is a representation that claims that the working class would do anything to move up on the social ladder.









- Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrrman's The Great Gatsby, 2013




- Jay Gatsby in Jack Clayton's The Great Gatsby, 1974